The Sonata
by Fwalandra
Summary: The Lyoko Warriors are surprised to find out that there are two other Lyoko Warriors that Aelita never told them about. They seem trust worthy. But how is Kadic's violin prodigy, Quinn Thompson, related to the female Lyoko Warrior? Eventual Odd/OC.
1. Teddygozilla

**Chapter One: Teddygozilla**

The white haired woman ducked as a kick came up to the side of her head. She moved her body under the leg in a swooping motion before bringing her hand up to thrust it at the offender. A scoffed escaped the offenders' lips as a hand stopped her punch from going any further. The girl let out a frustrated noise before bringing her free arm down roughly, her elbow slamming into the leg of the offender. The man hissed, pulling back.

"Ow! God dang it, Vixen! You always gotta do that?!" He asked, sliding down to the ground as he began to feverishly rub at his injured shin. The girl grinned, her scantly clad body slowly dropped to be by the man.

"If you wouldn't use the same moves, I wouldn't have to keep hurting you." She chided, glancing over at the man with her unusually bright green eyes. Her eyes were indeed unusually bright. They almost appeared neon in color; so bright you couldn't believe it. But the boy believed it. Mainly because he'd known this girl for most of his whole life.

"Sheesh. We're just practicing. You don't have to injure me during practice." He muttered, moving his red eyes to the girl. Vixen, though, wasn't paying attention. She was leaning back, her weight on the two arms holding her up. She crossed her legs lazily as she glanced up to stare at the vacant blue sky. The sun was behind the two of them, beating down on their backs while they rested in the desert land.

"Hey, Vincent?" Vixen asked, tilting her head towards the silver-haired boy next to her. His eyes were on the ground, where he was poking at it roughly, causing the dirt to slowly unclump.

"Hm?" He asked distractedly, swirling his finger in the loosened dirt. Vixen held back the urge to roll her eyes at her friends' lack of attention for her. She shifted into a full sitting position, resting her hands in her lap as she sighed.

"I should get back." She said, despite the fact that she really didn't want too. She came to visit Vincent everyday, but it wasn't the same. She hated leaving him. She never knew what could happen to him if she left. He was practically defenseless.

"Alright." Vincent stood up quickly, dusting his dirty hand off on his clothing. He held out his hand for the voluptuous girl below him. She raised a black-clad hand and was pulled to her feet by Vincent's strength. She lazily reached a pale hand to scratch her white haired head. Her head was half hair, half shaved; styled into a mohawk-mullet, being a rather odd style for a female.

(A/N: Think like... Kind of Supreme Kai from Dragonball Z. Just more feminine. Or... kind of like Miyavi's hair in his 'Freedom Fighters' PV. Just white. xD.)

"Well... I'll be back either later or tomorrow. Get yourself to the nearest tower, okay?" She asked, biting her lower, pale pink lip slightly. Vincent sighed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Alright, alright." He said, the constant worry from the girl annoyed him at times. Though, he couldn't blame her. Too many hits and he'd be gone. He turned his head to the side as he sensed a tower nearby. He smiled and turned back to the girl, only to see that she had disappeared. Leaving only a trail of white smoke where she once stood. A smile graced his lips as he turned and headed in the direction of the tower. He'd see her later.

-----

"What do you mean you're not going?!" The outraged voice of Tania Grandjean filled the cafeteria as students sat there during lunch. Her yell caught the attention of much of the student body in the room. She glanced around before slowly lowering herself back into her seat, frowning. "You have to go!" She pleaded. "So, why aren't you?!" She was obviously distraught. The blonde girl across from her sighed, picking at her lunch with a fork. An annoyed expression was on her face as her unbelievably bright green eyes rose to stare at the brunette across from her.

"One; dances aren't my thing. Two; I don't have a date. So, if I go with you guys and I have no date... you and Thomas will be spending all your time together. Thus leaving me out of the picture." Her voice was a mumble. Her pale head was resting on her hand as she went back to her food.

"Can't you... go with Mike?" Tania asked, wanting her friend to attend the dance. The girl raised her eyes sharply. She stared at the brunette for a moment before tilting her head to a black haired boy at the other end of the table. He noticed her looking and grinned, waving. The blonde rolled her eyes as she shifted back to Tania.

"No. Our dating days are over, love." She stated simply. Tania pouted, leaning back in her chair as she thought of a way for her friend to attend the dance. It wasn't long until an annoying voice filled the air.

"Well, well. What's this? The violin prodigy Quinn doesn't have a date to the prom. Typical. No one would want to go with you because of your attitude." The blonde, now named Quinn, raised her gaze to the dark haired girl who stood by their table; her arms cross over her chest and her two 'lackies' behind her. Quinn's eyebrows rose.

"Really now?" She asked, her voice obviously saying she didn't care what the girl thought. That only made the girl, Elisabeth "Sissi" Delmas, madder. She huffed slightly.

"I'm actually surprised you even have friends. But then again, they probably only like you so they can mooch of your fame. That's the only reason I would ever be friends with someone like you." She spat, scowling. Quinn blinked.

"You see..." She stood up, pushing her chair in. "There's a few things wrong with that picture, Sissi..." She paused. "One: I'm not famous." Sissi was about to speak before Quinn raised her hand, silencing the girl. "And two: I'd never even think of being friends with you." She stated, grabbing her bag from the back of the she was sitting in and slinging it over her shoulder. She took a step forward, realizing Sissi and her group was in the way of the exit. "Now, if you'd excuse me. I have to go practice being a 'violin prodigy'." She stressed the words 'violin prodigy'. Sissi huffed once again, moving out of her way. Quinn rolled her eyes before walking past the girl and to the exit.

She didn't care what Sissi thought. The two of them had never gotten along. For good reasons, actually. Not just because Sissi picks on her; she couldn't care less about that. But Quinn was still stuck in the past. Angry at what Sissi had done to her back in 6th grade. She doubted she would ever get over the event that took place two years ago. Ever.

Instead of going to her dorm like planned, Quinn found herself wondering around the campus. Maybe she should go to the dance. It might be fun? But that would mean that Sissi got to her. But then again, not going would mean that Sissi got to her also.

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Quinn breathed out, leaning against the nearby wall of the dorm building. She didn't notice the large man standing close by.

"Quinn, I thought I told you to stop cussing." Quinn raised her head to give Jim a weak smile.

"You know me. I don't listen well." She joked, wrinkling her nose slightly at her potential father figure. She did view Jim as a father figure, ever since he stopped a group of high schoolers from beating her up outside of campus. Jim shook his head slightly.

"You look upset... Did something happen?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Quinn laughed, shaking her head.

"No, just the usual." She breathed out, closing her eyes. She felt incredibly comfortable around Jim, so she acted differently around him. Well, not differently. She acts how she used to; like herself. The way she acts around her fellow students is different. Jim nodded his head slightly, before his eyes lit up as if remembering something.

"Are you going to the prom?" He asked, blinking down at the girl. Quinn scoffed, adjusting her bag as she kicked away from the wall. She began to walk away from Jim.

"That's not my thing." She said simply as she hurried away from him. Why was everyone mentioning the dance? It's just a dance. Okay, so it's the annual prom. Big deal. Actually, it kind of is... isn't it?

"Wait! Quinn!" She heard Jim call after her. She stopped and sighed.

"Will you do me a favor?" He asked once he was in front of the girl. When Quinn didn't answer, he continued. "Some students are working on decorating the gym for the dance. I'm supposed to monitor them, but Miss Hertz wants me to help her with something." Jim muttered the last part, glancing away from Quinn. A smile graced Quinn's lips. She knew Jim liked Miss Hertz.

"Alright. But I can't guarantee anything good coming out of this." She let out a fake scoff, pretending to seem angry still. Jim grinned.

"Thanks, kiddo." He patted her head affectionately before heading to the science classroom. Quinn watched after him for a moment before turning to the direction of the gym with a soft sigh.

Quinn glanced around the gym with raised eyebrows. She had mixed feelings on the students working on the decorations. There was Sissi with her 'lackies', Herve Pichon and Nicolas Poliakoff. Then there was Yumi Ishiyama, who was in most of Quinn's classes, along with Ulrich Stern and Odd Della Robbia, two of Yumi's friends that were a year below herself and Quinn.

"Ugh. What is _she_ doing here?" Sissi's obnoxious voice complained, causing the group of students to look up at the blonde girl. Quinn dropped her bag beside the door before pulling at the sleeves of her tan hooded jacket.

"Don't get too excited." She started. "I'm here in Jim's place. Which means, technically, I'm the boss." Quinn circled a finger into the air lazily. Sissi let out a huff.

"That's ridiculous. Why would Jim put you in charge, of all people?" She scowled. Quinn dropped down into a sitting position against the wall. She opened her bag and pulled out a notebook and a pack of pencils. She didn't look at Sissi as she spoke.

"Maybe because I'm mature? No, no... That can't be it." Quinn muttered the last part to herself, though Odd and Yumi, who were close by, caught it and laughed. Quinn opened her notebook, which was actually a sketchbook, and began a search for an unused page. "Oh, I know. Because he trusts me. Yeah, that sounds good." Quinn once again muttered the last part to herself. Sissi rolled her eyes at Quinn before heading out of the gym, where Milly Soloviff and Tamiya Diop were recording a report for the school's news program.

"Unfortunately, our cameras were not authorized to film the site where the festivities will take place. But I can make out from where I'm speaking, the girl who might be crowned our beauty queen tonight... Just as she was last year. I mean, of course, our principals daughter Sissi." Milly's voice said from the hall. I rolled my eyes slightly at that.

"Let's see whether she'll answer a few questions..." Sissi and her posse started towards Milly and Tamiya. "Well Sissi, how about a few words for our TV audience before the big night?" She asked the taller, older girl.

Sissi had her hand on her hip as she spoke. "Sorry, munchkins.... I only talk to real, pro reporters." Hervé put his hand up to Tamiya's camera. "I have no time to waste on a couple of nerds."

Quinn tilted her head back to watch the scene silently. She was going to be upset if Sissi took this too far.

"But! It's for the school news program! What about the freedom of the press?!" Milly argued, obviously distraught.

Sissi turned to Milly as she walked past the girl. "Oh Milly! Little dipsticks your age don't have any freedom, understand? Anyway, who needs your dumb report. What do you know? Besides, you've got a problem. Don't forget you have to have a date. And I don't know anyone who'd want to go with a dork like you. Even them..." She gestured to Nicolas and Hervé, who were standing behind her. "I bet if you asked them... They'd run like scared rabbits."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Only because they're suck ups to you." She muttered, scoffing under her breath. Sissi didn't seem to catch it, but Nicolas did and shot her a look. Quinn blinked innocently.

"Who needs them?! They're lots of other boys!" Milly defended herself. Quinn didn't like how this was going and stood up slowly and easily.

"Oh yeah?" Sissi asked, smiling slightly. "What are you waiting for then... try and find one." Sissi let out a laugh.

Milly turned to look inside the large, empty room again. Her eyes were set on Ulrich, who had just stepped off of a ladder to put up some decorations. Quinn followed her gaze, allowing her eyes to widen slightly. Milly wasn't going to ask him, was she?

"Uh-uh.... Ulrich?" He turned his head to the younger girl. Quinn noticed the tears forming in Milly's eyes and clenched her fists tightly. "W-W-Would you be my date tonight?" A blush started over her nose.

"Uhh..." He started, blushing slightly. Odd, who was standing on the other side of the ladder, let out a kind of snickered at his friend. Quinn couldn't help but send him a bitter look, though he didn't notice.

"I'm sorry, Milly." Ulrich continued. "It wouldn't be a very good idea. I'm too old for you." That was bull. And Quinn knew it. He was only a year older. A _year_. "And, uh, you see. I promised to go with Yumi." Quinn glanced over at the Japanese girl. She had just stepped off of a ladder and was standing beside Ulrich. Both of them blushed slightly.

"You see?" Sissi laughed. "What did I tell you? But don't worry Milly, I'm sure you'll find a boy for the sandbox dance." Sissi said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Meanwhile, why don't you go play with your dolls?" Milly slouched her shoulders, obviously upset. Tamiya gave Sissi a mean look before putting her arm around her friends shoulder in attempt to comfort her.

Though, Milly pushed her away and read to the doors, leaving the building, crying. "Milly! Milly, wait!" Tamiya called after Milly, running after her.

Quinn stepped out into the room, her bag slung over her shoulder. Odd, Ulrich and Yumi followed shortly behind the blonde girl.

"I hope you're proud of yourself." Yumi spoke. Quinn let out a small snort.

"That was low. Even for you. Actually..." She paused. "No... It wasn't. You could go even lower." She blinked slightly. "Though, I don't think Jim will be too happy to hear about this." She shook her head in a disapproving manner.

Sissi shot Quinn a mean look before leaving also, Herve and Nicolas following behind her like puppies. Quinn scowled.

"What a brat." She muttered with a small pout on her face. "Thinking she can do whatever she wants just because she's the principle's daughter... If I had it my way, I'd punch her lights out."

"You'd do that?" Odd asked the older girl curiously, almost surprised to hear her say something like that. Quinn's eyebrows rose as she turned back to look at the three. She shrugged.

"Probably." She said simply before exiting the building also. She allowed herself to stretch before she headed to her dorm.

-----

"Dammit, Vincent... where are you?" The white haired girl from before let out an angry sigh. She shifted only slightly as the bitterly cold air nipped at her rather exposed skin.

"Don't worry yourself, Vixen." A calm and cool voice spoke from behind her. Vixen turned around, blinking.

"Please, don't do that again. You almost sounded cool." She rolled her eyes at the taller man.

"I am cool." He pouted.

"Uh... sure. Anyway, why'd you call me here? I was in the middle of something." Vixen stretched her body up to meet the chilly winds of the ice land she and her male friend were presently standing in.

"Xana." He said simply, crossing his arms with a frown. The girl scoffed, scowling.

"Xana. Xana. Always Xana..." She muttered. "What about Xana?"

"I feel he's up to something." Vincent raised his gaze to the sky. Vixen scoffed again. Whether it be from her friend acting cool again or because she was still miffed about the mention of the thing she hated most in the world.

"When is he not up to something?" She asked, raising her white eyebrow at the man. His gaze landed on her. He closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Vixen... I wish you would take this more seriously." He muttered. She smirked softly at his comment.

"Oh, but I do take it seriously. You see..." She approached the silver haired teen. "I'll do anything to destroy Xana. Why?" She tilted her head, letting eyes travel the man's body. "Because he wants to hurt you and Aelita. Anyone who touches you will come to a slow and painful end." A glint crossed her eyes slightly as she moved her gaze away from Vincent and back to the ice and snow around them. Vincent didn't seem phased at the glimpse of her unstable mentality, as he was used to it.

"Where to?" She asked casually, crossing her arms over her chest. She wanted to get this done and over with.

"Well... here." Vincent said, his gaze moving beyond the pale girl and to something behind her. Vixen blinked slightly before turning and cursing loudly as she noticed five kankrelats heading towards her and Vincent. She allowed a deep scowl to cross her features. She hated these things.

"Stay behind me. You can't afford to lose too many hit points." She said calmly, pressing her partially gloved hand against his abdomen and pushing him behind her gently. She tugged at the wire around her right wrist nervously. She wasn't comfortable with Vincent being there. He usually took shelter in a tower while she fought, if she even had to.

There were others like her that seemed to know about Lyoko. They usually did most of the work for her. They didn't know about her. But she knew about them. She often watched their battles, actually learning from them. Though, Vixen knew she'd been in Lyoko longer than they have. That was obvious.

A red blast from a kankrelat almost hit Vixen, had Vincent not gripped her uneven black lace skirt to the side. She blinked before growling, slapping Vincent's hand away from its position by her thigh. She flicked her right wrist outwards, no longer nervous. But angry. The wire, which was wrapped around her forearm several times, had a small kunai knife attached to the end. The kunai shot out towards the nearest kankrelat, hitting its Eye dead on.

She ran to the fallen kankrelat and jumped onto it, kicking off into the air just as it began to disappear. She swung her wrist, causing the wire to circle in the air several times. She shot her left hand up and grabbed the wire, shortening it. She tossed it at another kankrelat, hitting its Eye as well. She landed on her feet and flicked her right wrist back, causing the wire to ravel around her wrist. She tucked the knife into the wire and took off towards the nearest kankrelat, dodging lasers.

Two down, three to go. She thought to herself. That was the downfall, though. As she thought that, she didn't notice the red blast coming to her side. It hit her side roughly and she hit the ground near a kankrelat hard, becoming buried in the white snow that littered the ground. She grunted before swinging her fist at the kankrelat that she fell next to, her fist penetrating the Eye on its carapace. She let out a scowl as she kicked a kankrelat away from her. She flicked her wrist once again, before bringing it down roughly, causing her now free knife to slice straight down the kankrelat.

One more left.

She kicked out of the snow, flipping with ease as she dodged a blast. She landed gracefully on her feet, next to the knife that was embedded in the ice. She pulled on it, having to put a good amount of strength in it to get it out. As she had a momentary struggle, the last kankrelat shot her. She let out a groan, the shot taking away thirty hit-points instead of the usual ten. The kankrelat was charging up for another blast until a long, slender senbon needle pierced the Eye. The monster disappeared quickly.

Vixen groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She glanced back at Vincent, who had two senbon needles in his left hand and was lowering his right.

"Thanks..." She muttered, frowning slightly. She was slightly upset that Vincent had to help her. After so long of a time of being in Lyoko, she should've taken those guys down with ease.

"No problem..." He said, approaching her and holding out his empty hand, as he took the two extra senbon needles, tucking one behind his left ear and quickly sliding the other up his sleeve.

Vixen took his hand and he pulled her up. "I suppose I can't be too angry at you helping me. It did save my skin. Though, I better return. I lost forty life points. I need to recharge." She sighed, rubbing her temple.

"Yeah. You should. I'll call you again if I need you." Vincent turned back to Vixen, only to see a shimmer of white smoke where she once stood. He let out a small smile as he rolled his eyes, turning and walking away in the white snow.

-----

Quinn let out a groan as she slowly eased her pure white violin back into its case. She could barely feel her arm muscles. She'd been practicing for a few hours now. She had a recital coming up in two weeks; she needed to be perfect for it.

She closed the black case and locked it. She picked it up gently and slid it under her bed. She glanced around her room lazily, not really knowing what to do anymore. It was Friday and school was over for the day. She could go get Tania and Thomas and go do something. Or she could go hang out with Mike. Or even Tristan Brassford or Matthias Bural, if he wasn't studying. Her eyes stopped on a picture from her 6th grade year here at Kadic Junior High School.

It was a picture of her in a soccer uniform; ten other boys huddled around her in a group. Ulrich Stern was next to her, his arms over her shoulders with a small grin. On the other side of her was another boy that had shaggy brown hair and blue eyes, Leopold Favre. His arm was over her shoulders as well. Quinn's green eyes stared, moving from each grinning boy, then to the coaches beaming face. She stared at the dirt and grass stains all over them. At the gold trophy in front of the group. Her eyes stopped on a boy dressed in casual clothing to the side of the group, he too wore a grin.

The boy had black hair that was tied back into a low ponytail and bright blue eyes. Quinn just stared. She couldn't look away. Her eyes began to moisten. After a few minutes, her gaze slowly traveled from the boy to her own smiling face. She was so happy back then. So free.

A sudden look of angry crossed her face as she lashed out at the picture, knocking it to the ground and causing the glass protecting it to shatter. She unwillingly let a few tears slip out before she quickly wiped them away. She sighed, calming down.

"I need a walk..." She muttered, frowning as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her black pants. She exited her one person room before she could decide against the walk. As she was leaving the dorms, she caught sight of Milly and Tamiya, Milly was crying. As she began to approach them, she saw that Odd Della Robbia was approaching them also. She leaned behind the pillar that Milly was against, listening. She wasn't sure if they noticed her, but she didn't care.

"Something wrong Milly?" He asked, the hands in his pockets coming out as he crouched down on the other side of Tamiya, Quinn felt her eyebrow twitch up slightly. Odd didn't really seem like the person to actually care about 6th graders.

"Somebody stole her teddy bear..." Tamiya said again, a sad look on her face. Milly raised her head, an angry look on her teary face.

"And I'm sure it was one of the big kids who did it for spite!" Tamiya, who was looking at a picture that she'd taken earlier, let out a surprised noise. Milly turned to look over at it, and Odd stood also to get a glance at it. Quinn bit her lip. She leaned her body out further to see the picture in Tamiya's hands.

"Milly... you're right!" They all moved in closer, slight surprised expressions on their faces. "It's a picture of Sissi's room." Well, how is that surprising? Didn't Quinn say earlier that Sissi could go even lower than just picking on 6th graders? She just proved her point.

"And there's my teddy bear!" Milly pointed to Sissi's pillow. "Hidden under her pillow. Incredible..." She breathed out.

"Ah~!" Odd joked. "Who would've believed it? Soon she'll be playing with dolls!" Quinn let out a slight snort at that, causing the group to look at her quickly. She looked away quickly, wondering if they were going to be angry with her. When they didn't say anything, Quinn glanced back.

"Okay! Come on now! We've got to find her!" Milly said enthusiastically.

"If Jim catches us in the dorm, we're in big trouble Milly." Tamiya said, glancing at Milly. Quinn rolled her eyes slightly. Typical Jim... Being mean to the wee ones. She'll have to talk to him about that later.

"You go back to your room." Odd took the picture happily. "I'll handle this." He stood up. Quinn followed suit, planning on following him.

"How valiant of you." She said from his side. He glanced over at the other blonde, a slight wary expression on his face. She didn't have much of a social reputation around Kadic. People knew her because of her violin skills, but that was the only thing positive. There were rumors that she snuck off campus every night to meet up with a gang she led and to beat up rival gangs. Quinn wasn't much of a talker to those she didn't know well, so Odd didn't know if the rumors were true or not. He doubted it, considering all the positive things Ulrich used to say about her, but he could see where it could fit in.

"You're not going to follow me, are you?" Odd asked, bringing his arms and folding them behind his head casually.

"You're not hiding something, are you?" Quinn mocked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The two, unknowingly, were walking in perfect sync.

"No." That meant yes. Quinn decided to follow Odd anyway. Mainly because she was upset at Milly crying. The two girls had interviewed the violinist on many occasions. After a while, she started to feel close to the girls. She considered them friends, well, younger sister type friends.

"Besides..." Quinn spoke out loud. "I want to help Milly too." He glanced over at the girl, slightly surprised. Quinn just ignored his look and smiled slightly. Her gaze towards the ground.

Quinn didn't speak it, but she felt there was more going on than Odd was letting on. Quinn had always been suspicious of his little group. She wanted to know the truth. And she wasn't going to stop until she found out.

-----

"Hmm..." Odd let out, glancing from the picture, then back up at the scene. The teddy bear sure wasn't under the pillow. The pillow had been clawed at, along with a few things in the room. Quinn's eyebrows were raised.

"Wow... Something has anger issues." She muttered, picking up a shredded magazine.

"Uh... I, uh, have to go." Odd said, heading for the door. Quinn turned to watch him.

"Alright..." She furrowed her brows as he left. "Strange little dude." She said, shuffling her feet out of Sissi's room and headed towards her own room, which was a floor above. Her feet quickly made their way up the stairs. She gripped the railing and swung around the corner like she usually did, only to grunt and stumble back. Her body had met with another body. She rubbed her nose, glaring up at the human she'd run into.

She glared up at the person, ready to yell at them before she realized who it was. The shaggy black haired boy adjusted his glasses, smiling weakly. "You okay, Quinn?" He asked.

"I'm cool. Sorry about that, Matthias." She steadied herself, rubbing her nose a little more before lowering her hand. "I didn't think anyone would really be coming around the corner when I did that..." She said the last sentence a little softly.

"It's cool. Be a little careful next time, though. That would've sucked for you if you would've ran into someone worse than me." He laughed slightly, referring to Sissi or Jim. The blonde girl nodded. She began to walk around Matthias to head to her room. "Hey! Quinn!" He called to her once she was close to her door. She turned towards him and raised her eyebrow. "I heard you weren't going to go to the prom... but if you decide to change your mind... I would like to take you there with me..." He shifted nervously, afraid of rejection. Quinn stared at him for a while, no real expression on her face. He tensed up slightly and started to turn around.

"I'll think about it!" She called to him suddenly, not wanting to upset one of the few friends she had left at Kadic. He froze, glancing back at her again before smiling and disappearing around the corner. The girl turned back to her bedroom door and smiled slightly, unaware of the slight blush on her face.

She crouched down and reached into her white and green tennis shoes and pulled out a silver key. She jammed it roughly into the lock on the doorknob and unlocked her door. She twisted the doorknob and entered her room. She closed the door behind her as she entered her room. She slid the key back into her shoe before she headed to her computer.

As she sat down, her eyes traveled to the broken picture on the floor. She hadn't even bothered to pick any of it up. She swiveled in her chair and dropped to the ground in front of it, slowly picking up the glass shards on the ground. After she did that, she tossed them into the trash can that was nearby. She lifted up the broken frame, wincing slightly as the picture slid out of it and onto the floor. She tossed the frame into the trash as well.

The picture was face down on the ground. She picked it up, keeping the actual picture facing away from her. She sat back into her chair, leaning back as she used her leg muscles to turn the chair towards the laptop that sat on her desk. She had two laptops, one hooked up on her desk and one that she usually took with her to places.

She let out a sigh, closing her green eyes as she slowly flipped the picture over. She then opened her eyes and studied the image. Good, no scratches. Her eyes once again landed on the black haired boy in casual clothing before she opened the left, top drawer of her desk and slid the picture in. As she was closing it, another picture caught her eye. Two, actually. She pulled both out.

The first image was of four blonds, one male, three female. The tallest female had blonde hair that was pulled into a bun, a tired smile on her aged face. She had bright green eyes and pale skin. Her arms were around two of the other people in the picture; both blondes with bright green eyes and pale skin. One her left was a male with shaggy blonde hair and on the right was a girl with the same facial features as the boy and blonde hair to her mid-back with a black undertone. In front of the three was a shorter girl, going to their shoulders. She had blonde hair and bright green eyes, a grin on her face. That young girl was Quinn. The boy was Michael Thompson, her older brother. The girl was Vanessa Thompson, Michael's twin sister and Quinn's older sister. The woman in the middle of the twins was the mother of the Thompson children, Irene Thompson.

Quinn smiled fondly as her eyes drifted from her sister to her brother. She was close to her siblings. Michael almost went to jail for her once. An older boy was picking on Quinn because he didn't like Vanessa and decided to mess with her family instead of just her. Once Michael found out that the boy was picking on Quinn, he beat the boy up and was charged for assault, but he somehow got out of it.

She sighed as she sat the picture back in the drawer and her eyes connected with the second picture she grabbed. The same black haired man in casual clothing from the soccer picture was there, his arm around Quinn's shoulders. His lips were pressed against her cheek and a blush on was on her cheeks. With his free arm, his hand was entangled in her own hand affectionately. Quinn bit back the tears as she slid the picture gently into the drawer, closing the drawer just as gently.

She sniffed slightly as she flipped open her laptop and turned it on, waiting for it to start patiently.

-----

"Ah~! I was just getting comfortable too." The feminine voice grumbled as she stretched her arms up over her head as she approached the silver haired man. Though their last meeting was in an ice sector, this was in a rock sector.

"I told you I would call you if I needed you. I need you. So does Aelita. We've talked about it... It's about time you and her little group knew about each other and started to work together." Vincent chided. Vixen smirked slightly.

"Oh? But I do know them. I've watched them before, remember?" She asked, her green eyes glinting slightly. Vincent rolled his eyes slightly.

"But they haven't met you." He stated, nodding his head. He began to walk away. Vixen followed reluctantly.

"I liked it that way." She muttered, flexing her left hand lazily.

After a few silently minutes of walking, Vixen could make out figures in the distance. A blonde boy dressed in purple was fighting off five kankrelats. Vixen smirked, seeing Aelita behind him. Due to her watching the group, she already knew the groups' names. This boy was Odd. Strange name, Vixen had thought. Original too, as a name, but yet lacking originality as a word.

"Vincent. You go to Aelita. I'll help the boy." The girl jumped high into the air and seemingly flew through the sky, slamming down on a kankrelats back. She slammed her fist into Xana's eye that resided on the monster.

"'Ello." She said to the boy, saluting him mockingly before jumping out of the way of a blast from a kankrelat. The boy looked at her shocked, but the white-haired girl just grinned at him.

"Who are you?!" He practically yelled, shooting a laser arrow at a kankrelat.

"It's a secret!" Vixen yelled to him.

"She's here to help, Odd!" Aelita yelled to him. Vincent pushed Aelita behind him a bit; Aelita was more important than himself. Odd, the blonde boy, let out a growl before attacking. Vixen noticed he seemed to be having a slightly hard time; he'd lost a few hit points.

"What's going on? Who's that?!" A voice yelled. Vixen raised her head, recognizing the voice from when she watched, knowing it as Jeremie. As she was distracted, she was shot to the ground by a laser. She let out an inhuman growl as she landed on all fours and spun a bit, dirt rising off the ground and levitating around her before she slowly rose her to feet. She flicked her right wrist out, unraveling the thin wire around it before shooting the knife attached to the wire at the kankrelat that shot her.

"Die you piece of trash!" She growled out, obviously not happy that she had gotten shot.

"Vixen!" Vincent called, trying to get her attention. She growled again, looking back before looking at the monsters. She retreated back to Aelita and Vincent, the boy following her. She flicked her wrist towards her, causing the wire to wrap around her arm safely. The boy shot at the monsters coming up behind them as Vixen ran to catch up with the other two. Suddenly, the ground shook and Aelita slipped off the edge of the rock sector, screaming. Vincent reached for her, but started to slip over the edge as well. The boy leaped into action, jumping down after Aelita. Vixen too leaped into action, flicking her wrist so the thin wire wrapped around Vincent and pulled him to her safely. There was a long pause as Vincent's body was pressed against Vixen's.

"You okay?" Vixen breathed out, her warm breath tickled Vincents' ear and caused him to shudder.

"Yeah... Aelita!" Vincent pulled the wire off of him and went to the edge, looking over it. "Are you alright?!" He called down to her.

"I'm alright... I found something! Come down here...." She said, glancing up at Vincent from her spot there the boy was lowering her into a cavern she'd found.

Vincent nodded slightly before closing his eyes and letting a free feeling wash over him. A light blue aura surrounded him and Vixen as they hovered off the ground. They slowly made their way down to the cavern with the boy and Aelita. Vixen let out a whistle once her feet touched the ground, still not quite used to his telekinesis.

Vixen began to say something before the same voice from earlier spoke. "Odd! Ulrich has Yumi, hurry up and find the tower!" He said, sounding frantic. Vixen raised a perfect white eyebrow.

"I take it your name is Odd." A knowing smile crossed her lips.

"And I take it your name is Vixen..." He mocked, his head turning as he heard a noise. Suddenly, a megatank rolled down and began to roll towards the four of them.

"Ah~!" Several cried out as they began to run as fast as their feet would carry them through the tunneled cave. Once through the cavern, the four all dodged out of the way; Odd and Vincent to the right, Aelita and Vixen to the left. Vixen shook her head slightly, pushing herself up. She let out a growl.

"Bastard made me rip my skirt..." She muttered to herself, gripping the uneven black lace skirt that covered her leather-clad legs in her hands with anger. She slowly rose to her feet, ready to fight the megatank.

The megatank charged up as Odd was trying to align himself with the eye on the support ring. Unfortunately, the megatank shot off an attack before he could fully perform his own attack. He quickly jumped out of the way, getting up with frustration. "Now that's what I call a warm welcome." Vixen snorted at that, slowly undoing the wire and gracefully dashing forward as the megatank shot another blast at Odd.

"Jeremie! Odd's not going to make it on his own!" Aelita cried out, momentarily forgetting about her silver-haired helper. Vixen smirked slightly.

"Yes he will! Come on Odd! You have to hit the target!" Jeremie said lowly.

"Silly people. He's not alone." Vixen muttered, thrusting her weapon at the target. The megatank rolled out of the way and Vixen quickly took off to the left to avoid the incoming attack. She let out a growl of frustration before pulling the wire back to her.

Odd went to shoot another arrow at the megatank, but once again the monster attacked first. Odd went flying into the air and landed on top of the megatank. He pointed his arrow at the target and Vixen thrust her blade into the opposite target at the same time, their attacks hit in sync. Vixen had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over by the rolling megatank as it crashed into the rock wall, defeated.

"Go on Aelita, it's up to you." The voice, Jeremie, spoke. Vincent glanced over at Aelita before taking her hand and they both walked into the tower. Vixen plopped onto a nearby boulder as they disappeared. Vincent had no ability to depower a tower like Aelita, but a tower was the safest place for him.

"Ah~!" She breathed out, stretching her muscles slightly as she leaned back onto the even larger boulder behind the one she was sitting on.

"So... who's that guy?" Odd asked, sitting down in front of Vixen, his tail swaying slightly as he began to get curious.

"His name is Vincent. That's all you really need to know." Vixen responded simply, opening one green eye to look at the boy.

His eyebrows rose as he chose to ignore her curt attitude. "How long have you known about Lyoko?" He asked, curious.

"About four years now...." She responded, unphased by all the questions. She decided to ask her own.

"So, what'd Xana do back where you guys are from? He always messes with something." She muttered, frowning.

"He made a teddy bear come to life. Made it gigantic too." Odd responded.

Vixen snorted a laugh out. "Awesome."

Odd glanced up into the sky for a moment before looking back at Vixen to ask another question, only to see a white smoke where she used to be sitting. He blinked slightly, confused about her sudden disappearance.

-----

Quinn blinked as she watched Sissi throw a fit because Ulrich accepted Milly's request of being her date to the prom. Yumi was going to go with Odd instead. It was sweet, and rather surprising that Ulrich would do that.

"You're recording this Tamiya, aren't you?" Milly asked, excitedly happy.

"You bet I am! This is a scoop!" She replied, shooting the camera at Milly and Ulrich.

"A super scoop!" Milly responded, grinning.

Quinn chuckled as she adjusted her bag over her shoulder. She walked by, waving lazily at the group as she passed to signal her good-bye. She made her way to her dorm. She needed to practice some more, still. She allowed a yawn to grace her features, closing her eyes momentarily. When she opened them, she saw Matthias over at the pop machine, getting a Coke. She bit her lip for a moment, stopping her trek to her dorm. It was when he had already opened the can and began towards his dorm that she hurried to catch up to him.

"Hey, Matthias!" She called gently to the studious boy. He stopped and turned around, slightly surprised to hear Quinn calling his name. He smiled slightly.

"Yeah?" He asked slightly. Quinn bit her lip once more before taking in a deep breath. Her gaze lowered to the ground and she began to shift the top of her shoe into the dirt.

"I've been thinking about it... And I'd really like going with you tonight to the prom..." She looked up. "If you're willing." I added softly. He stared at her for a moment before a large smile crossed his face. He was happy that Quinn was inviting him to the prom with her and he was also happy that Quinn was deciding to open up a little more to her peers.

"Really? What time should I pick you up at?" He asked, shifting his pop from his right hand to his left hand.

"How about five?" Quinn asked, shifting into a more comfortable position due to Matthias actually wanting to go with her. She wasn't going to get too dressed up, but she would change her shirt.

"Great. I'll see you then..." Matthias smiled softly. Quinn smiled as well before adjusting her bag and continuing on her way to the dorms. Maybe this won't be as bad as she had originally thought.


	2. Seeing is Believing

**Chapter Two: Seeing Is Believing**

History was definitely not Quinn Thompson's favorite subject. Yes, she gets wonderful grades in that class. But she gets wonderful grades in every class. It's what she was good at; academics. You didn't need to be social with academics. You didn't need friends. That's one thing Quinn didn't need anymore. She didn't need too many friends. When they leave you, it's the most unbearable pain ever.

The sound of the bell ringing caused everyone to get into motion. Quinn stood and gathered her belongings, shoving everything into her tan bag then tossing the bag over her shoulder and exiting the classroom.

As she was exiting the classroom, she saw Matthias exiting the science classroom across the hall. She smiled at him, blushing almost a little. It had been a while since the dance, but they'd been hanging out more lately. She fell in step beside him. "Hey." She said casually. He smiled, adjusting his books.

"Hey, I can't talk for long today. I need to run down to the math room and talk to Mrs. Meyer." He did sound sorry about the whole situation. Quinn only shrugged with a smile.

"Okay. I'll meet up with you some other time then, okay?" She glanced at him as they neared the math room.

"Cool. See you later." He waved to her as she continued on and he entered the math room. Quinn made her way down the stairs easily and exited the school, breathing in fresh air. As she began to continue, she almost jumped at someone yelling.

"Yes! Let's hear it for the God of rock and roll!" The blonde girl turned her head quickly, only to see Odd Della Robbia on his knees with his arms spread wide. Quinn had overheard that Odd was trying to start a band; she figured the principal must've approved it. She only rolled her eyes, thinking his outburst to be an annoyance.

Quinn then noticed that Tania and Thomas were standing to the side a little bit away from her and she began to head over there. "Heey..." She said, smiling only slightly as she stopped by them. Tania glanced up quickly and smiled brightly.

"Hey! You hear? Odd's band got approved!" She was smiling and seemed excited about the fact that a band will be made at the school. Quinn nodded, laughing shortly.

"I heard." The blonde pushed her free hand into her pocket as the other held her bag over her shoulder. Thomas and Tania shared a look.

"You should try out... They're going to have open try outs sometime." Thomas suggested, seeing this as an opportunity for his friend to get close to Ulrich again. He thought it might change her for the better as well. She only shook her head, a small scowl on her face.

"I don't think they'll need a violinist. Besides. I have another program coming up here in a few days. I need to practice on that, not a silly band." Quinn sighed softly. She was always a little more stressed than usual around these events. She always worked overtime to try and master a new song in only a week or two, at the most. She always knew she could get it done, but the blonde 8th grader found it annoying to practice every single day.

"When is it, exactly?" Tania asked, choosing to ignore the fact that Quinn declined the thought of her being in a band. The three middle schoolers began to head towards the dorms.

"In three days." Quinn tilted her head towards Tania, who nodded.

"We'll be there..." The blonde rolled her eyes at Thomas's comment.

"So will half the school." She muttered with a frown. She didn't like that the school had to go. She didn't like alot of people seeing her play. But that came with the job description.

"You got your key this time?" Thomas teased the blonde girl as they entered the dorm building. Ever since she had lost her key once a year ago, he always teased her whenever he got a chance. Quinn glared at the grinning brunette male.

"I do." She defended, sticking her tongue out slightly at him. The trio proceeded up the stairs, until they reached their hallway. They all separated to their own doors and Quinn brought her foot up to take her key out of her shoe.

"See you two later." She called as she quickly unlocked her door and went though, closing it behind her. She tossed her bag on the ground and looked around the room. The light on her desk was still on from earlier in the day and it started to flicker a little before it shut off. She pouted her lips a little with narrowed eyes before she sighed with annoyance. She glanced around her now dim-lit room before finding what she had been looking for all along. A red gym bag. It was lying in the far corner of the room. She approached it and heaved it over her shoulder. She stumbled a bit. Quinn had forgotten how heavy the bag was. She grunted only slightly as she exited her dorm and decided to get something to eat before going down to the gym.

As she was coming of the stairs to the main level of the dorm building, a voice captured her. "Quinn?" She turned to see Jim heading towards her. She blinked slightly.

"Yeah, Jim?" She asked, turning and continuing on her way to the cafeteria. Jim followed behind her.

"You going to the gym?" He asked, noticing her red bag. She shook her head.

"Not yet. I'm going to get something to eat before I even head that way." She glanced up at him. "Will you take my bag to the gym for me?" She asked, looking at him innocently. He nodded, taking it away from her. Quinn didn't really want anyone to know that she still went to the gym and exercised. Everyone thought she'd given up on sports a long time ago and just stuck to violin. She wanted to keep it that way.

"I'll be waiting there for you. I have a new drill I want to test out." He waved slightly as he walked off towards the gym. Quinn watched after him for a little while before she headed to the cafeteria once again.

Upon her arrival, she found her friends at the end of the line. She grabbed a tray and snuck up behind them. "Mm, brussel sprouts." She said sarcastically from behind Thomas. Rosa, one of the workers in the cafeteria, rolled her eyes at the blonde as she was used to hearing her say that.

"Aw... Don't say that... They're good." Tania said from beside Quinn, grinning. Tania liked most all vegetables and fruits. She didn't like meat much, but she still ate it. She just had a preference for veggies. Quinn got her food and scoffed at Tania as they made their way to their usual table. Their table was kind of located in a dangerous spot. Sissi's group sat next to their table and Odd's group was diagonal. They were close to Sissi's bullying and Odd's pranks.

Speaking of Odd, the blonde boy sat a piece of paper on their table as he walked by. He was handing papers out to every table. Quinn looked at it.

"Heh... They need a drummer. That disqualifies all of us." Quinn was content with Thomas's statement. Thomas can play the guitar, Quinn played the violin and Tania didn't really play anything. Quinn read over the paper, a small frown coming across her face. Odd was holding open auditions in the gym. So much for Quinn being able to go there.

-----

"What a bore..." The white haired girl sighed as she leaned back against a tree. The silver-haired boy next to her rolled his eyes before moving from his standing position to sit.

"Why aren't you home?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as his gaze moved from Vixen to the sky.

"I would be. But... something interrupted my plans." She let out another sigh, closing her vibrant green eyes as she tried to relax.

"Mm." Vincent frowned only slightly. He didn't really care that something interrupted her plans; he was happy she was visiting him.

"Do they know about us?" She blurted out randomly, referring to the other Lyoko warriors.

"Aelita told them about us, yes..." He responded, closing his own eyes.

"Good. Now it won't be so incredibly awkward." She drawled out lazily.

"You never found it awkward in the first place." Vincent stated, smirking slightly at the grinning girl.

"I know." She brought her arms behind her head, unknowingly making her bust look larger in the black, front-laced corset she wore.

Vincent's crimson orbs slowly traveled to her bust before he looked away quickly. "You're strange." He said simply.

"You're stranger." She defended lazily, not really caring. She allowed a small smile to grace her features. She loved peaceful days in Lyoko like this one. Vincent smiled as well.

Suddenly, Vixen's eyes snapped open wide. "Vincent.... Something's..." Her voice became too fuzzy to understand at that point as her body began to phase in and out. Suddenly, only the usual white mist was left where she once was. Vincent's eyebrows furrowed as he stood suddenly. He glanced around, looking to see if there were any enemies around. A frown crossed him as he began to set off in a run. He needed to find Aelita; and a tower.

-----

Quinn scowled as her computer shut down. "I was in the middle of something..." She muttered, sighing as she pushed her laptop closed. She stood and headed to her light. She flicked the switch up, but nothing happened. She then flicked it up and down a few times, only to see that it didn't work. The blonde scowled bitterly as she tore open her bedroom door and entered the hallway.

"The powers out." Thomas said as the blonde walked out of her room. She glanced over quickly and saw three people sitting in the hallway; Thomas, Tania and Mike. At seeing Mike, Quinn remembered that he said he was going to try out for Odd's band. Her blonde eyebrows rose.

"How'd you do?" She asked casually. He grinned.

"Man, they said I was too heavy." Quinn knew he didn't really mind. Mike liked his own beats and that's all that really mattered. She rolled her eyes.

"Well... What happens, --" Her phrase was cut short as Tania and Thomas finished it for her.

"Happens. We know, we know." Tania rolled her eyes with a grin at Quinn. The blonde only shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to go for a walk." She sighed and stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she headed down the hallway. She hoped that they were done with auditions.

As she was exiting the dorm building, she noticed Matthias heading towards her. He was smiling.

"Hey." He said, heaving his books up before they fell.

"Hey. You finished with Mrs. Meyer?" She asked. She didn't think they would be able to hang out tonight. Ms. Hertz said there would be a science test tomorrow and she knew that Matthias would want to study.

"Yep... But I don't think we'll be able to hang out tonight..." He sounded kind of disappointed as he looked down at his books. Homework and studying. Quinn nodded.

"No, it's cool. I know you want to get your work done. Since tomorrow's Friday, we'll have the whole weekend to do something. Even go off-campus." She laughed softly. He smiled.

"Cool. I'll talk to you later, then." Quinn moved out of the way to let Matthias through. She watched the dark haired boy enter the dorm building before she began towards the gym once again.

She pushed open the door of the gym and saw that they were, unfortunately, still in there. She noticed Jim in there as well. She didn't want to draw alot of attention to herself, so she hesitated for a moment before she called out to Jim.

"Jim!" She called to him. He looked at her, but wasn't the only one. She didn't realize that she caught the attention of the others in the room as well.

"Quinn! Did you come to try out too?" He asked, grinning slightly. He hoped she was; he thought she needed to get back in touch with her social side. She laughed curtly, almost finding the idea amusing.

"No. They don't need a violinist..." She paused a moment before continuing. "Can I have my bag?" She asked, gesturing to the red bag that rested beside Jim's feet.

"Oh... Yeah." He picked it up and brought it towards the blonde. She took it from him and sighed slightly, annoyed that her work-out time was interrupted. "I guess we're going to have to do this some other time, eh kid?" Jim asked, patting the blondes back gently. Quinn only raised her head curtly, giving a half-nod and began to walk away.

"We could have a violinist!" A voice called out to her. The eighth grader turned around and stared at Odd, the one who spoke to her. Ulrich and Yumi, who were with him, watched her closely. She stared at them for a little bit, moving her gaze between the three.

"You don't need a violinist." She repeated, a little more firmly this time. She turned away and retreated out of the room rather quickly, her head lowered slightly. She began to think as she hurried to her room.

They didn't need a violinist. They probably didn't even want a violinist. Quinn figured they were just doing it out of sympathy. She didn't need sympathy. She didn't _want_ sympathy.

Quinn sighed as she began to sneak up the stairs to her level. She didn't really want to deal with anyone right now. She slowly peeked around the corner to see if anyone was in the hallway. No one was. She breathed out and made a dash to her door, hopping slightly as she raised her foot up to get her key. She jammed it into the keyhole and turned, quickly entering and closing the door once again.

She smiled at the sound of the lock clicking into place. The green-eyed girl breathed out once again as she sat her bag on the floor and bent down to unzip it. She pulled out a nice, silver laptop. She knew for a fact it had a full battery on it. She smiled to herself as she sat on the floor and opened the computer. Feeling a sudden heat rise around her, she pulled off her tan jacket and tossed it to the floor, leaving her in a thin-strapped beige shirt as she grinned to herself.

-----

Thuds could be heard as boots met hard, desert ground. Green eyes started around widely. The girls speed was so fast that her arms were dragging along behind her. She slowly came to a stop as she approached the two people, Aelita and Vincent.

"I'm terribly sorry about earlier. A bit of a... malfunction happened." Vixen stated, taking Aelita's hand gently as she approached and brought it to her lips, kissing her gently.

"Forgive me for not being here sooner, Princess." She stood straight up, smiling slyly. The pink haired girl blushed slightly, used to Vixen's antics but still flattered.

"We're waiting for the others." Vincent said casually, hands in his pockets.

"Ah... Will it just be Odd again, or will I be able to meet the other two now?" The mohawked girl asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She was slightly bitter. She could handle this alone. She didn't need anyone coming in and helping her out.

"Not sure." Vincent's red eyes traveled to the sky.

"Mmm. I hope we have some Bloks today." Vixen referred to a type of monster that resides in Lyoko.

Suddenly, Jeremie's voice was heard. He was speaking to people in the real world, but the three in Lyoko could still hear him. He was talking to them about whether or not to tell the authorities about what was going on to the real world because of Xana. If they did, then the authorities would probably pull the plug on Lyoko and not only will Xana be destroyed, but so would Aelita and Vincent. As the four in the real world and Aelita said their votes, Vixen thought for a moment.

"Yeah, hi... This is Vixen." She shifted as she spoke. "If my vote matters, I'm against it." She called out. Vincent, who hadn't voted yet, spoke up as well.

"I'm for it." Vixen turned around so fast her head began to spin. It was three against four; they were going to tell the authorities. The busty girl stared at Vincent for a while before a sour look crossed her face. She sent Vincent a look of hate momentarily. She looked away from him and at the sky as she clenched her fist.

She heard the sounds of footsteps and took in a breath, trying to calm herself down a bit as she turned around and looked at the visitors. She saw Odd and another boy, dressed in samurai gear with brown hair. A knowing look crossed Vixen's face as she let out a small smirk.

"Ulrich, this is Vincent and Vixen. Guys, this is Ulrich." Aelita introduced them to each other.

"Pleasure, I'm sure." Vixen only scowled and rolled her eyes before glaring at the brown haired boy. Ulrich stared at her for a moment before a slightly confused expression crossed his face, but he didn't say anything to the white haired girl.

"The infected tower is in the desert region. Near an oasis." Jeremie spoke from above them. Vixen tilted her neck to the side, popping it.

"I know where it is." Aelita turned around and pointed. "That way, on the other plateau." Vixen turned in that direction and stared.

"Ah~! How far away..." She breathed out, scratching her head. Everyone began to head over there, leaving her behind. She only yawned and began to walk. It only took her a minute before she got tired of it and disappeared in a white mist.

She formed through a white mist on the other plateau just as the others were arriving. Aelita then began to search for the tower. Vincent breathed in and out deeply and gently as his eyes closed, hoping to locate the tower as well. Vixen stared for a moment before she leaned against a large rock wall, eyes closed as she waited.

The sound of Ulrich hitting some rocks with his katana and Odd catching a rock repeatedly was all she heard. Odd tossed the rock into the water in front of him and blinked, surprised to see a white light coming from the water. Vixen had heard him throw the rock, but didn't hear the contact of solid to liquid. She opened her eyes and watched.

The purple-clad boy stuck his hand into the water and pulled it out, only to see that his hand was perfectly dry. "I've found it." He said, turning back toward Ulrich, Vincent, and Aelita. Vincent opened his red eyes to look at the boy.

"We've been tricked. There's no water down there, just a surface layer." The four of them gathered around the edge as Vixen slowly pushed away from the wall and began to approach. "We better look." Odd glanced at Aelita, who nodded.

He suddenly jumped into the water. Aelita and Ulrich followed suit. Vincent glanced back at Vixen before he jumped down as well. Vixen stared at the blue for a minute. She shifted from side to side before groaning and walking over the edge. She landed in a standing position on her feet, not needing to crouch down like the others. The ground below her cracked slightly at the sudden, strong impact. Vincent glanced at her and smirked slightly, knowing she was trying to show that she was dominant in power.

The five of them all made a mad dash to the tower that was now in view. Odd and Vixen were in the lead.

"There..." Odd breathed out, coming to a stop and pointing at the tower. Suddenly, a krabe stood up from the ground, causing Vixen to whine out loudly. She didn't like those little buggers.

"Careful!" Odd said, only to be shot by the krabe right afterwards in the leg.

"Odd!" Jeremie's voice could be heard again.

Two more krabes came up from the ground, causing Vixen to whine once again. She moved her right hand away from her, ready to attack. Ulrich drew his katana and held it in front of himself defensively.

The krabes began to come closer to the group, getting ready to start their assault.

"Aelita, it's you they're after. Go on, run!" Ulrich called back to Aelita. The pink-haired girl let out a startled noise before grabbing Vincent's hand and began to run away from the monsters, hoping to find safety for the two of them.

"Aelita!" Odd called out as a krabe followed after them. He darted forward and took a hit for the two of them, his body devirtualized away. Vixen let out a much needed growl before dashing forward as well, jumping on top of the krabe. She slammed her hand down into the Eye on the krabe, causing it to immediately fall to the ground as her hand penetrated it. Super strength was a nice thing to have in Lyoko, she thought as she moved away from the fallen monster.

Ulrich began to deflect the laser shots heading towards him with his katana as he dashed forwards. He created three copies of himself and jumped up, stabbing a krabe in the Eye with his katana. He pulled back and landed on the ground just as the krabe exploded.

"Only one more." Vixen said, just loud enough for Ulrich to hear her.

"Go on! Go!" He said to his clones. They started to the last krabe, but got shot down easily. The real Ulrich started towards the krabe. The monster shot a blast at Ulrich's left shoulder, hitting him. Vixen let out another frustrated growl, annoyed with people getting shot so easily. She thrust her right arm toward, unraveling the wire around her right arm and shooting it at the krabe. It wrapped around his legs successfully, causing the monsters attention to be directed to the white-haired girl instead of the brown-haired boy. The krabe sent a fast laser at Vixen, hitting her leg. She cried out as she fell to the ground roughly. But her plan had worked. It was enough of a distracted for Ulrich to jump up and stab the krabe's Eye. He landed in a smooth stance as he glanced back at Aelita.

"Okay, it's up to you." Aelita nodded as she pulled Vincent along behind her to the tower. Once they were safely in side, Ulrich made his way to Vixen.

"Are you alright?" He asked, holding his hand out to the older looking girl.

"Peachy." She pushed his hand away and got up on her own. She didn't need his pity. She let out a wince as she stood, but grinned nonetheless.

-----

Quinn breathed in and out slightly as she paced outside the gym, violin case in hand. She still wasn't sure about his. She sat her violin case on the ground outside the gym and stretched up, yawning slightly.

"Quinn! Hey!" She lifted her head up only to see Matthias heading towards her, books in his hands as usual. She smiled softly.

"Hey. Where you headed?" She asked, picking up her violin case.

"Dorms. You?" He asked, glancing at her through his glasses.

"The gym, actually." She gestured to the building behind her. She laughed slightly. Matthias glanced at her violin case.

"Did you try out for Odd's band?" He asked. She nodded.

"Not yet, but I think I'm going too." She admitted, biting her lip slightly as a very soft blush came across her cheeks.

"You should! That'd be great." He smiled, moving his hand up to push his shaggy black hair out of his face.

"You think?" She asked, tilting her head. "Well, I think I'll go in then." She took a few steps backwards towards the gym. "I'll catch up with you after, okay?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll be in my dorm. Bye!" He waved slightly as they parted ways. Quinn straightened herself up before she opened the doors to the gym, entering casually. The sound of the door opening caught the groups' attention. Yumi, Nicolas, Jim, Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich looked up at her. She shifted slightly.

"Are you still accepting auditions?" She asked softly, glancing at the ground. The group stared for a moment, stunned. Yumi stood up and smiled.

"Yeah! Wanna give it a test with our song?" She asked, gesturing to the stage.

"Sure..." Quinn smiled slightly. She headed to the stage that Yumi gestured too as the rest of the band entered the stage. Jeremie sat in his chair, waiting to see how they all sounded together. It took them a few moments to get ready before they began.

They sounded pretty good. Really good, actually. "Great job you guys!" Jeremie said, clapping. "Your energy is super nuclear! You're going to make this town explode!" A smile graced Quinn's lips.


	3. Holiday in the Fog

**Chapter Three: Holiday In The Fog**

A yawn graced the lips of Quinn Thompson as she shuffled out of the dorm building. A laugh was heard as a voice followed.

"You... look like crap." Tania Grandjean said to her friend, finding it amusing. The blonde only scoffed in response.

"You would too, if you didn't sleep like a rock." Thomas Jolivet shot at his girlfriend. His eyes were droopy, indicating he was tired, and his hair was disshevled. Quinn looked pretty much the same. Tania blinked.

"What happened?" She asked, glancing between the two of them.

"Jim happened. He was screaming about a dog in the middle of the night." Quinn muttered, running her pale fingers through her pale blonde hair to try and get some of the tangles out. Tania laughed, automatically thinking of Kiwi, Odd's dog. Everyone knew he had a dog, but no one told on him.

"So, you leaving for break?" Thomas asked, stretching as the three began to roam aimlessly around the campus.

"I hope. I think I might actually be going this time; my mom hasn't canceled like she usually does. Yet, anyway." Quinn laughed softly as she hopped a littl to adjust her right shoe. She didn't expect to go away for break. She never did. Her mother always had to cancel.

"Thomas and I are leaving." Tania said, glancing at Quinn with uneasiness. She didn't want to upset her friend. "You'll be here alone if your mom cancels."

"Oh well." Quinn shrugged, smiling a little. She noticed Jeremie and his friends standing to the side, talking lowly. She also noticed Sissi's group spying on them.

"Oh, come off it! You know you'll miss us!" Tania teased playfully, catching Quinn's attention once again. She turned towards them to see Thomas grinning at her and Tania with an all-knowing smile.

"It's true." The blonde sighed with mock sadness. "How shall I ever live with out you two?" She asked loudly, bringing her hand to her forehead in an over-dramatic way.

Movement out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention. She saw Sissi and her group coming out of hiding. As they walked by Quinn and her friends, the blonde caught something they said.

"Who's this Xana he was talking about?" Nicolas said to Sissi and Hervé. Quinn raised an eyebrow. Xana. Isn't a race in Asturian mythology?

Quinn knew alot about mythology. Her father's hobby was myths. He had taught Quinn and her siblings about myths and legends from all about the world. She barely remembered him mentioning a xana once. He said that they were always nymphs of beauty that loved water.

"Oh, hey!" Tania wrapped her arms around one of Quinn's. "I heard that Matthias' parents are staying in town. So instead of him having to go all the way to his parents house, he just gets to go off campus." She smiled slyly, knowing that Matthias and Quinn were working on a budding relationship. "Maybe you two can hang out a bit?" She suggested, grinning. Thomas grinned too.

Quinn rolled her bright green eyes. "Maybe. Only if he makes the call." She admitted, her eyes slowly traveling to the ground.

"Well, let's hope he does." Tania shared a rather devilish look with Thomas before they began to trek towards the campus gates. It was almost time for everyone to head out.

"You think your parents are here already?" Quinn asked, shrugging Tania off her arm as she stretched her thin arms forward.

"Yep. They're always here early. And my parents give Thomas a ride to the airport since we're going to the same place." Tania nodded, smiling hesitantly.

"Well, you guys go do what you need too. I'll see you guys in a week." Quinn gave a small, rather fake smile. She didn't want Tania and Thomas to feel bad. Tania reached over and hugged her.

"We'll see you when we get back. Bye!" She grabbed Thomas' hand before he could do anything else and pulled him along towards the gates. Bright green eyes watched them for a little while before she decided to try and see who all was staying behind at Kadic. She didn't want to be the only one; like last year.

She blew out a breath quickly, causing herself to whistle lowly. She moved her hands into her pockets as she glanced around for anyone she knew; mainly her siblings or Jim.

Her face brightened considerably as she found Jim. He was sitting in a chair, drinking some soda as he watched Jeremie, who was feverishly scrubbing graffiti off of the wall in front of him. Sissi was there also, sitting on a wooden bench doing some math homework. Quinn, who was in a semi-decent mood, didn't say anything rude to her as she walked by, only continued to Jim.

"Jim?" She asked, causing him to turn around to see who was talking to him.

"Quinn!" He stood up. Jeremie glanced back at them as his vigor in cleaning slowed a little. "What can I do for you?" Jim crossed his arms over his chest.

"Have you seen my mother around? Or Vanessa? Or Michael?" Quinn asked, glancing around to find any blondes besides Jeremie.

"I think I might've seen them earlier, but it was only a quick glance." He thought outloud, rubbing his chin as he did so.

"Oh." She raised up on her tip-toes to look a little farther around. She sighed out, feeling defeated as she slouched She didn't think it was them; it never is.

"Well, why don't you wait here?" He asked, sitting back down in the chair he was previously in. Quinn sat down on the ground right beside his chair and turned her attention to Jeremie, who looked away from her quickly and began to scrub again.

"You think they'll really be here?" Jim asked, handing Quinn a can of soda from the cooler on the other side of the chair he was in. Quinn took the soda and opened it, taking a drink. Mmm, grape.

"No." She responded, sitting the can on the ground. "They'll probably cancel again." She yawned, leaning her head against the chair next to her.

"Actually..." Sissi spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "I'm a little stuck." She stood up. "Maybe I should help Jeremie. My father always said that manual labor was good for the mind." Jim stood up at that.

"Good idea, Sissi. I'll go get you a sponge." He said as he was already started to the supply shed to get an extra sponge.

"Get me one too!" Quinn called out to him with a wave. He nodded. The blonde turned her head towards Sissi with narrowed eyes, suspicious at what she was going to do.

"What a shame to have to clean that." She said to Jeremie. He looked back at her and obviously looked annoyed.

"I guess I'm not hte first one to recognize your talent." Jeremie fully stopped what he was doing and turned to Sissi. "It's really well-done. A work of art. BY the way, did you do it all by yourself? Or did your friend Xana help you a little?"

Jereme only began to get back to work, but Sissi continued. "I heard you talking to your friends about Xana. Who is that? She your girlfriend? Maybe I know her." Sissi was flat out teasing Jeremie now. "Come on Jeremie... tell me." The bonde boy stood up.

"Xana's the name of a rock group. BUt with all the junk you listen too, there's no way you can possibly know them." Jeremie gave the dark haired girl a dark look.

"What do you think I am, an idiot or something?" Sissi asked, scowling. Quinn let out a soft snort.

"Uh... You said it, not me." That caused Quinn to laught out loud. Sissi turned her head to glare at her.

"Actually." The blonde girl spoke. "Xana is a type of mythical creature. Fairy nympths. Beautiful girls. Love water. That type of thing." She took a drink from her soda. Jeremie looked at her over Sissi's shoulder and grinned. He tossed his sponge at Sissi.

"Here... since you volunteered to help me." Her walked over towards Quinn. "It's time I took a break." He plopped down in Jim's chair.

"A little more elbow grease, go on." He mocked the older gym teacher. Quinn bit her lip a little, half-way to keep from laughing and half-way because she saw Jim coming back.

"Keep scrubbing! You can do it!" Jeremie continued, his arms folded behind his head. "Go on! You can do better than that!" Jim crossed his arms as he stopped behind the chair. He cleared his throat loudly. Jeremie shot up and gave an innocent grin. Quinn let out a small giggle. Jim made his way around the chair and tossed a sponge to Jeremie and Quinn before plopping down.

The blonde eighth grader let out a partial sigh as she rose to her feet. She stretched out her limbs and approached the tagged wall. She crouched down beside Jeremie and pressed her dampened sponge up against the wall. She bit her lip softly as she glanced behind her one last time, hoping to see her brother or sister. She didn't notice a pair of glasses covered eyes watching her as she turned back towards the graffitti and began to scrub slowly, trying to keep herself from letting tears from in her eyes. It was always like this. Always.

It took her, Jeremie, and Sissi several hours to clean up the wall. Quinn had immediately fallen asleep when entered her room.

The next morning, Quinn's bright green eyes snapped open as she started to go into a coughing fit. There was an odd purple smoke in her room. She stood up, wheezing slightly. The first thing she thought of was smoke damage to her laptop. She stumbled to her desk, pulling her laptop off and running out of the room. The smoke followed.

Quinn thought it was amazing, and terrifying, how the smoke seemed to have a life of its own. She glanced behind her quickly to see if the smoke was following her still, and it was. She picked up her speed a little more, thanking track and soccer in her previous years as she exited the dorm building. She didn't stop until she reached the wooded area of the campus. She looked around and was thankful to see that the smoke was no where nearby. She hugged the laptop close to her before she thought of how silly it was to grab the piece of machinery.

-----

A grunt came from Vixen as she roughly landed on her side from the long-distance drop down. She sat up, rubbing her forehead and groaning. She smiled only slightly when she saw the pink-paired girl before her.

"Evening, princess." She said, even though it wasn't evening. She stood up and stretching a bit. "Where's Vincent?" She glanced around for the said silver-haired man.

"He's at a tower, resting." Aelita said softly, seemingly distracted. Vixen glanced over at her, only to see that she was searching for a tower.

"A tower is infected, I'm guessing?" She asked, crossing her arms under her bust. Aelita nodded. Vixen glanced around again, kicking a rock with her boot lazily. She raised her head quickly when she heard a noise. Vixen's green eyes widened as she pushed Aelita to the side and took a hit from an incoming blok.

Vixen jumped out of the way after that, just in time to avoid its freeze ray. It wouldn't be pretty if she was caught in that. She stood up, the desert ground crunching under her feet. She grit her teeth before running towards the block. The Eye facing Vixen began to slow a red color, allowing Vixen to know it was the laser Eye. Vixen jumped into the air to avoid the hit. She flicked her right wrist forwards and the wire unraveled and shot out, the daggar at the end of the wire becoming imbedded into the bloks Eye. Vixen pulled her wrist back, causing the knife to come flying at her face. She caught it easily in her left hand and took a defensive position.

She watched calmly as the blok exploded in fromt of her. She turned to look at Aelita, who was still on the ground from being pushed over. Vixen held out her hand for the pink-haired girl. Aelita took her hand and Vixen helped her stand. "Are they coming?" She asked, referring to the other Lyoko warriors.

"Hopefully." Aelita sighed out.

"Aelita! I found it!" Jeremie's voice shouted suddenly. "37 degrees south in the forest area."

"Okay, I'm on my way. But I'm no where near it. And I'm going to need some help. Vixen won't be enough. She's taken a hit already." Aelita glanced at the white haired girl, who was sulking at the last comment.

"I have three volunteers who would be happy to cut their vacations short and help." Jeremie said, obviously smiling.

"A vacation. I haven't had one of those in a long time." She breathed out bitterly, running a slender hand through her spiked hair.

Aelita turned to her. "You go by foot. I'll meet you there." Aelita began towards the uninftected tower. Vixen waited for Aelita to be safely in the tower before she began to move. She disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Vixen couldn't teleport very far, only short distances. She appeared in a puff of smoke two miles away from her disappearance spot, her feet connected to the ground immediately as she began her run. She was a fast runner, one of her powers. Vixen's black leather-clad body disappeared in a puff of white smoke once again.

This routine continued for several minutes until she came to a slow and steady stop in front of an uninfected tower in the forest region. Vixen, obviously tired, bent forward a little, trying to catch her breath. She glanced up when she heard a small noise. Aelita came out of the tower and smiled before speaking to Jeremie.

"Jeremie. I'm coming into the forest area now." She glanced around.

"Yumi, Ulrich and Odd should be there very soon. Be careful Aelita, there should be monsters around there. Vixen, please do your best to protect her." Vixen rolled her eyes at that.

"Whatever, dude." She muttered, scratching her head.

"I better go back to the school. Jim, Quinn, and Sissi might be in trouble. I've go to warn them." Vixen's eyes raised to the sky, a slight frown on her face.

"Good. Go, I've got Aelita covered!" Vixen yelled up, receiving a quick 'thanks' from Jeremie.

Aelita and Vixen continued walking around for a little bit until Aelita rested behind a tree. Vixen jumped up and sat in a high-branch, looking out for monsters. Vixen's gaze was moved forward as she watched Odd and a girl touch down on the ground. The girl looked like a geisha in her outfit. Must be Yumi, she thought.

"Where do we go now?" Odd asked, glancing around. Aelita poked her head around the tree.

"The activated tower is over this way..." She said, catching their attention. Yumi smiled as she approached Aelita. Vixen watched from her position above, not yet noticed.

"Hi Aelita! Have you seen any monsters?" Yumi asked. Aelita shook her head.

"Not yet. There was a blok over on the desert plane, but Vixen took care of that." Aelita pointed a finger up to the white-haired girl in the tree. Yumi and Odd followed her finger. Vixen smirked, her green eyes shining as she tilted her head. She slipped off the branch and landed gracefully on her feet beside Aelita. She lowered herself into a low, respecful bow, her left arm out to the side slightly and her right arm pressed against her stomach.

"Good evening." She straightened herself. "Vixen, at your service. You must be Yumi." Yumi narrowed her eyes slightly, studying the white-haired girl close. Their eyes connected and Yumi's eyes widened a little, surprised at the brightness of the other girls' green eyes.

"Guess you didn't look very hard." Odd spoke up suddenly, referring to Aelita talking about not seeing any monsters. He pointed at a group of kankrelats heading towards the four of them.

"Damn." Vixen cursed out. "Fast little buggers..." She muttered, pushing Aelita behind her and holding her right arm out to the side, in a defensive position.

"I hate to rush you, my friends, but it's getting kind of urgent here." Jeremie said, sounding desperate. Odd, whom was steadying himself to shoot and arrow, spoke.

"What about us? What do you think we're doing? Getting a suntan here?" That caused Vixen to giggle. Yumi glanced back at the girl, eyebrows furrowed. Yumi shook it off and threw her fan at a kankrelat, destroying it easily. The last kankrelate began to prepare an attack.

"Watch out, Odd!" Yumi called, watching as Odd began to perform some flips to dodge lasers. Unfortunately, Odd was hit in the shoulder and hit the ground. Aelita took a cautious step forward, attracting the attention of the kankrelat. It began to prepare an attack and fired.

"Aelita!" Yumi cried, pushing the pink-haired girl out of the way, getting hit in the stomach. Vixen let out an angry growl, turning her attention to the last kankrelat.

She flicked her right wrist with force, shooting her knife at the kankrelat and nailing its Eye dead on. She pulled the knife back to her and straightened her skirt as she caught the blade easily.

"Yumi, are you alright?!" Jeremie asked.

"No broken bones yet!" She said, getting back up. Vixen had to admit, the three Lyoko warriors had determination.

"Take good care of Aelita!"

Suddenly, three more kankrelats showed up. Vixen grabbed Aelita and pulled her behind a large tree, Yumi and Odd followed quickly. Vixen tuned out Jeremie as he spoke. She had jumped into the tree to study the kankrelats from a high view. The monsters didn't seem to notice her, yet. She decided to take advantage of that. She was about to jump down when a blok wiggled out of the ground.

"Bastard!!" Vixen yelled, surprised. She jumped off the branch and slammed her feet into the bloks head. She then rammed her fist into the bloks Eye. It exploded on contact. The explosion sent Vixen flying back and ramming into a tree. She dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Ugh... I lost thirty hit points..." She muttered, struggling to get up with a frown.

She stood up just in time to see Odd shooting a kankrelat. Yumi's body was glowing a white-red color and a large rock slowly began to leviate. Telekinesis. Vixen was impressed.

Yumi dropped the rock down onto one of the kankrelats before jumping ontop of it. She threw her fan at another kankrelat as Aelita and Odd headed to the tower. Vixen followed behind Odd and Aelita for backup, but kept her eyes on Yumi. The last remaining kankrelat shot Yumi twice. One more hit and... The kankrelat shot Yumi. Her body slowly began to devirtualize.

Vixen let out a grunt as she was hit in the back by the last kankrelat. She fell to her knees before slowly getting back up, wincing. She turned around, only to see Odd by her side. Odd aimed his arrow at the kankrelat as Aelita brought up a make-shift bridge to get over the water to the tower. Vixen suddenly thought that having back up like this was nice for a change. That thought was immediately pushed out of her mind as she realized how out of character it was for her to think that.

The kankrelat and Odd began a face off. Odd got shot first and hit the ground. Vixen jumped into action at that, throwing her wire at the kankrelat. The monster fired at Vixen, hitting her knee. One more shot and she would be beaten. With Vixen injured, the kankrelat headed for Aelita, who was on the first step of the bridge.

Odd and Vixen stood up. Odd caught the kankrelats attention.

"Hey you. Yeah... you." He said to the monster. He had his arrow pointed at the kankrelat. Vixen realized she was closer to the kankrelat and pointed her knife to it as well. They waited a few moments before all three attacked. THe kankrelat shot Odd, Odd shot the kankrelat, and Vixen stabbed the kankrelat. Odd devirtualized from the blast, the kankrelat exploded from Odd and Vixen slowly devirtualized, the impact from the explosion, along with the heat of the wire, caused her to lose the rest of her life points.

"Bastard."

-----

Quinn's bright green eyes snapped open. Thoughts from the last night flooded her mind. She finished cleaning off the wall with Sissi and Jeremie, then she came to her room and just fell asleep. She yawned and stretched, a numbing feeling in her right arm. Must've been how she'd been laying. Suddenly, she jumped as her phone began to ring. She groaned slightly as she reached over and picked it up, bringing it to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked, sounding only slightly tired. A laugh from a male caused her to straighten up a bit.

"Good morning. Sorry if I woke you." It was Matthias. Quinn, being alone in her room, allowed a smile and a soft blush come to her face.

"Nah, I just woke up before you called. How's your vacation so far?" She asked, folding her legs underneath her as she held the phone in her hands delicately.

"Boring. I'm kind of glad you didn't go home." Matthias admited. Quinn tensed a little. She wasn't. She wanted go to home for once. She bit her lip a minute before speaking.

"Why's that?" She asked, leaning back into her fluffy pillows.

"Because then I wouldn't be able to ask you out on our first date." Quinn sat up immediately, face red.

"What?" She blurted out, not used to things such as this. Matthias laughed.

"Do you want to go out tonight? Typical dinner and a movie theme?" He asked, sounding a little hesitant. Quinn smiled.

"Sure! I'd love that." She wasn't going to reject him. She actually liked Matthias.

"Great! Meet me outside Kadic's gates tonight at five, okay?" He asked, making sure that was only with the blonde girl. She nodded, before realizing they were on the phone and he couldn't see her nod.

"That sounds perfect. See you then." They hung up after that. Quinn flopped back onto her bed, arms spread out lazily. She stared up at the ceiling with a grin on her face. Maybe staying at Kadic wasn't so bad after all.-


	4. Logbook

Quinn's alarm woke her suddenly at six-thirty. She let out a loud, unneeded groan as she slammed her pale hand onto her digital alarm. She sat up, glaring at nothing. Her hair was displaced and fuzzy. The blonde yawned as she slowly slid out of bed, scratching the top of her head.

The sound of her own stomach growling made her move faster. She was quickly changed into her normal attire and standing in front of the mirror in her room, brushing through her long pale hair. She took her fingers and curled her hair at the ends. Her hair was naturally curly, but with as much as she straightened it, it never was fully curly. Today she felt like leaving it a little curlier than usual. She also decided on a new accessory; a black barrette to put in her hair. She quickly pinned back her bangs and rubbed her finger along her now exposed forehead. Rarely, if ever, did she wear her bangs back. She sighed out loud before bending down and picking up her tan colored bag and tossing it over her shoulder. A fully charged laptop, a swimsuit, and towel were in there. She was supposed to be going to the swimming pool today with other students.

She exited her room at around 7:45 and locked it. She glanced down the hallway and saw Sissi standing outside of Ulrich's door. She rolled her eyes to herself as she slowly began to head that way, towards the stairs.

She ignored Sissi as she let out a snicker at seeing Quinn. She didn't care. She stopped at the door on the other side of Ulrich's and pounded on it. "Come on, Tania!" She called to the brunette. The door opened quickly and the brunette was standing there, grinning with a bag of her own. Tania, Thomas and Matthias were all going to the pool too. They had to go to the first class of the day before they could leave.

"Let's go." Tania slammed and locked her door, pulling the older blonde along with her to the cafeteria. As they were heading down the stairs, they met up with Thomas, who was then dragged along by Tania as well.

"Why does she always have to be like this?" Thomas asked, always grumpy in the mornings. Quinn shrugged.

"That's Tania for you." She smiled, shaking her head. Upon arriving in the cafeteria, she saw that their usual table was taken up by a group of 6th graders. She scowled, obviously mad. She started to take a few steps, halfway there, Thomas finally realized what she was going to do and hurried up to her, grabbing her wrist.

"They're just sixth graders, Quinn. Let them sit there for today... I mean, we're not going to even be here later. So who cares?" Thomas said softly. Quinn glanced back at Thomas with an amused expression.

"Did you really think I was going to go bully them?" She asked, tossing her bag in the chair next to her at a rather empty table. The only people there were Odd and Jeremie, who were listening intently. Thomas gave her a look.

"Were you?" He questioned, letting go of her wrist.

"Maybe." She said in a soft sing-song voice as she plopped down next to her bag. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Want me to get you anything?" He asked, heading off to the breakfast line.

"An oatmeal cookie." She said casually, waving her hand lazily. Thomas shuddered slightly, but nodded.

Odd let out a sigh as he finished up his food. "Eight slices of toast and three bananas. Not bad, huh?" He looked over at Jeremie. "Hey, are you skipping gym class again?" He asked the blonde who had a book in his hand.

"Yep." He nodded. "Gives me more time to... work." He trailed off slightly as he realized that Quinn was there. She only continued to look at him as she leaned back in her chair. Odd turned to Quinn.

"So, you going to the pool today?" He asked, folding his arms under his chin and leaning down onto the table as he stared at the blonde eighth grader.

"Perhaps." She took a drink of the carton of milk she had grabbed and glanced at him with her bright green eyes.

"Ulrich and I are going. You know anyone else that's going?" He asked, ignoring her attitude.

"Tania, Thomas and Matthias." She said curtly, not moving her eyes away from him.

"Anyone ever tell you that your eyes are really green?" He asked, blinking. Quinn stared for a moment as her eyes slowly took on a form of surprised and she lifted her carton to her lips to try and hide the small blush that was creeping over her nose. She lowered her milk and was about to respond when a hand was placed on her shoulder and a person lowered themselves into the seat next to her.

"Good morning." Matthias smiled at Quinn. Their date back during vacation went wonderful. They even went on another. He hadn't asked her to be his girlfriend yet, but she felt it would come sometime. He nodded to Jeremie and Odd slightly before he began to eat. Tania slid in on the other side of Quinn, tossing Quinn's bag to the floor lazily. Quinn gave the girl a short look before shrugging it off. Thomas sat on the other side of Jeremie and slid Quinn's cookie to her. She grabbed it and began to eat casually.

After they were done eating, they separated to their classes; Tania and Thomas to history and Quinn and Matthias to science.

* * *

Quinn let out a soft yawn as she approached the bus that was going to take them all to the pool. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Jim standing next to the door with his arms on his hips, talking to Odd.

"Take a look, Odd. Not bad, huh? This bus is the latest in modern technology. It's electricity driven, so it's non-polluting, but powerful too." Odd stopped in front of Jim and spoke in a dull voice. Quinn, who was behind Odd, stopped a little ways away so the two could chat.

"Electric and powerful too, huh? I bet you this crate go about as fast as a snail." He subtly teased as he walked up the stairs. Quinn giggled at Jim's look of annoyance on his face before walking past him.

"You shouldn't let him get to you so much. He's just a kid." She teased with a smirk. Jim gave her the same annoyed look and pushed her shoulder gently.

"Just get on the bus." He growled, frustrated with all the kids he had to deal with all the time. Quinn laughed a little louder before reaching the top of the stairs and scanning the bus. She saw Matthias sitting across from Tania and Thomas, chatting with them and quickly made her way to them.

"Hello." She said in a soft, cheerful voice as she sat down next to Matthias, who had scooted over for her to sit. The four began to talk amongst themselves until Quinn became distracted by Jim and the bus driver talking. They were hunched over the dashboard, tapping on it. Suddenly a black shadow flew up the window shield and Quinn's eyebrows furrow. _What the heck was that thing?_ She asked herself. Jim turned around and noticed some of the students in the front standing up and staring and he yelled at them to sit down. She mentally chuckled to herself as she went back to her conversation with her friends.

Several minutes later, it didn't look like they'd moved very far, so Quinn glanced up at the front and noticed that they were only going twenty miles an hour. She raised her eyebrows and sighed, wondering how long it would take for her to get to the pool. She loved water and it was rare for her to be able to go swimming, so she was looking forward to this trip. Once the conversation started to become quieter, she pulled out her laptop and started to play around on the internet. Matthias glanced over at her and smiled. Quinn laughed softly.

"Sorry, just really bored." She shrugged her shoulders. He just laughed and rested his head on the window, closing his eyes out of fatigue and boredom. Suddenly, from behind her she overheard Sissi talking to Ulrich Stern. She noticed earlier that morning that Ulrich was hanging out with Sissi a lot and she did find it weird. She listened quietly as she typed on her computer, hearing Sissi ask Ulrich if he wanted to go to a movie later, hearing his unenthusiastic reply, and hearing her whisper harshly to him. She stopped typing and tilted her head back a bit to peek around the seat. She saw Odd sitting diagonal from her and he was glaring into the seat across from him, directly at Sissi.

Quinn quickly turned her head back to her laptop when Sissi's phone went off and Odd turned his head towards her. She began to type and pretended like she wasn't even being nosey. Once Sissi was off of her phone, Ulrich laughed and moved over to sit by Odd. Quinn sat there for a few moments to ponder what had happened before the bus suddenly lurched forward and started to speed up. She cried out as her body impacted into the back of the seat, knocking her laptop to the floor. She was distracted by the sounds of panic from the other students for a moment that she didn't notice a pop-up rise on her computer.

Ulrich and Odd stood up and ran to the front of the bus, kicking her laptop underneath the seat.

* * *

Vincent straightened himself as he felt XANA's pulse rise in Lyoko. He was in the ice region and knew that Aelita was in the forest region. He stood up from the boulder he sat on and jumped down, slipping inside the nearest tower. He glanced around for a minute before standing in the middle of the tower and closing his eyes, trying to sense exactly where Aelita was.

Vincent reopened his eyes and walked to the edge of the circle before walking off and floating down to the next circle. He landed softly and exited the tower, seeing Aelita in front of him, talking to Jeremie's voice.

"Aelita! Are you okay?" Vincent asked, approaching the virtual princess. She turned towards him, her hand over her chest.

"I'm fine! But Xana's taken over a bus of students from Jeremie's school! Odd and Ulrich are on it!" She was worried, that was obvious.

Vincent cursed before running a hand through his hair. "Where's the infected tower?" He asked.

"The desert region." Jeremie responded, his voice resounded through the area.

"Let's get going; I can protect you until the other Warriors get here. I've already tried to send a message to Vixen, but she hasn't responded yet." He grabbed Aelita's hand and pulled her to the nearest tower for safety.

* * *

Quinn gripped the edge of her seat and tried to calm herself down. She's never been in a dangerous situation like this before. What kind of glitch was this bus going through? She looked up when she saw Odd start for the front of the bus. "Odd?" She asked softly, but he didn't hear her. He continued going and stood in front of the bus' doors. Her green eyes widened as he opened the door and jumped out of the speeding bus. "Odd!" She cried out, watching as the bus sped up even more.

Ulrich yelled for the students to take off their backpacks and use them as air bags. Not another thought went through her mind as she followed his direction, her hand sliding to grip Matthias' as a distinct feeling of fear washed through her. She quickly fastened her seat belt tight around her with one hand as Matthias did the same. Tania was almost in tears across from her and Quinn turned her head over there.

"Tania, fasten your seat belt." Quinn ordered, but she was frozen. Thomas reached over and did it up for her quickly before gripping her hand, hoping to calm her a little bit.

* * *

Vincent and Aelita were in the desert world, running to get to the activated tower. When the tower was in view, they stopped. "Jeremie! I have a virtual image of the activated tower!"

"Well done, you guys! Just stay where you are, Yumi's on her way. Vincent, take care of Aelita until Yumi gets there!" Jeremie called down to them. Vincent nodded and pulled Aelita towards a large rock, staying in a ready position in case anything popped out at the two of them.

Several minutes later, Vincent saw Yumi land on the ground as she fell from the sky after being scanned. "Yumi! Yumi!" Aelita called, waving her hand. Yumi turned towards the two and they began to run towards her. Yumi did the same to meet them halfway. They all came to a stop and shared a semi-awkward look; mainly between Vincent and Yumi.

"We should… get heading to the tower." He croaked out, looking away. He, unlike Vixen, did feel guilt at keeping themselves hidden from the other Warriors for such an extended amount of time. And he, unlike Vixen, often wanted to show themselves. But when it Lyoko, Vixen's rules were more dominant than Vincent's, so he usually had to suck it up. Yumi nodded, then all three of them started to take off in the direction of the infected tower.

After several minutes of running, Vincent slowed down slightly as he received a message in his head. He mentally cursed before picking up his pace, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Today was going to be the first day he'd ever tried an ability of his, and he wasn't sure how it would go.

"Aelita! The tower is real close now!" Jeremie's voice filled the desert land, almost jerking Vincent out of his concentration. But he remained focused on his task, eyes set on the tower as he ran. He quickly followed Yumi and Aelita as he slid down a rock that was connecting two levels of the desert land, gracefully landing on his feet. He glanced around, confusion bringing him out of his concentration. As Aelita took a step forward, Yumi stopped her and voiced exactly what Vincent was thinking.

"No, wait. This is too easy. Coming all this way without seeing even one monster." Her fan was out and she was backing towards Aelita protectively. "There's got to be a trap…" She said, looking around cautiously. As the wind behind them picked up speed, Vincent flicked his left arm slightly, causing three senbon needles to slide out from his sleeve and be placed between his fingers; he turned cautiously and saw a small sand tornado heading towards them. His eyes grew wide.

"A sandstorm!" Aelita cried out, almost terrified. Yumi shook her head, responding.

"No! It's a tornado!" She said, and then both girls turned and ran. Vincent stayed around momentarily as he finished the process he was performing in his mind, then he too took off behind Yumi and Aelita.

"Jeremie! We've got a problem here!" Yumi called out, keeping her steady pace easily.

"Make that two! There's a monster behind you!" He cried out, causing Yumi to glance back. Vincent did the same, catching a glimpse of the monster through the sand. He momentarily wondered if the monster was causing the tornado, but said nothing.

He caught a glimpse of white and black out of the corner of his eye, smirking. He was sure they could make it through now.

* * *

It'd been several moments and the bus was still speeding down the road, steadily going even faster. Quinn was slowing starting to turn into Tania, fear racking her brain as she gripped her seat and watched everything happen at the front of the bus. Apparently, Ulrich, Sissi, and Jim were all in control of what we should do, with the help of Jeremie on the phone. It was an odd group, and Quinn would've laughed, had she not been paralyzed with fear.

"Quinn? Are you alright?" Matthias asked cautiously, watching the girl grow more and more tense by the second. He could understand the fear, he had it himself… but he'd never seen Quinn look this petrified. She let out a hollow, obviously fake laugh, eyes still trained to the front.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She croaked, glancing back to see a police car following them. There was a moment of discussion up at the front before Ulrich yelled to the entire bus, standing on the left side of the hall.

"Everybody, over here with me!" He called, motioning for them to do as he says. Quinn quickly unfastened her seat belt and slammed her body against the window, perfectly understanding why he ordered to do that. The bus then took a sharp left turn and the left side started to lift up. There were a few screams and grunts, but their mass succeeded in leveling the bus out. Quinn noticed the 'leaders' engage in conversation, serious looks on their face. Quinn said nothing as she sat back down in her seat, tense and sitting straight up and ready for anything.

* * *

Vincent closed his eyes and concentrated as they forced their way through the storm. He heard Jeremie talking, but couldn't make out what he was saying over the wind. He was able, however, to catch Jeremie say that a megatank and five kankrelats were heading their way.

Suddenly, a megatank was rolling towards them and stopped, five kankrelats behind it. The megatank opened its shell and sent a fierce blast their way. Yumi knocked Aelita to the side while Vincent remained where he was, out of the way anyhow. Yumi told Aelita to get up and hurry. The megatank closed its shell and rolled away. Vincent, left behind by Yumi and Aelita, sent two senbon needles at a kankrelat, causing a chain reaction of the remaining four monsters to skitter towards him. He was at a disadvantage, the sand clouding his vision. He whistled lowly and called out, "Now!"

Suddenly, a whooshing noise was heard as the air started to clear around them. Vixen appeared in an instant behind Vincent, her invisibility wearing off as she swing her wire above her head rapidly to clear away the onslaught of sand. The kankrelats began to send blasts at them, which they both effectively dodged. Vincent sent another senbon needles at a monster, hitting its Eye dead on. Vixen took a moment to stop the process of clearing the air to being her wire and knife down, slicing a kankrelat in half. Only two more left, now. Vixen tugged on the wire to let her knife free of the hardened ground, it swinging into her hand. She quickly brought it up to deflect a laser blast from one of the kankrelats, causing it to hit itself in the Eye. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Vincent take down the last one. She grinned goofily at him.

"Sorry I'm late, Chief." She said, mock saluting him. He rolled his eyes, grinning knowingly. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, running to catch up with Yumi and Aelita.

"Don't worry about it. It's my fault really. I wasn't focused enough." He called back to her as they began to pick up more speed. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and they heard Yumi cry out, nearby. The air started to clear and Vixen let out a loose string of curses as she realized that they were stuck on a floating little desert island in the sky with no way to get off. They were on the same piece that Yumi and Aelita were. Yumi glanced back at her and Vixen waved casually, earning a small smile from Yumi. Aelita dropped her to knees in a meditative stance, crying out in a melodic voice as she began to activate her abilities. Slowly, a virtual bridge began to be built from the small island they were on to the mainland across from them.

The four of them quickly began to cross the bridge, hoping to make it to the activated tower without encountering the megatank once again. Somehow, Vixen just knew that wasn't going to happen. Once over the rock bridge, they were swiftly making their way to the tower, Vixen taking the back just in case anything came up behind them.

* * *

Quinn cried out as they had to repeat their process of turning. She was opening expressing fear in front of the student body and she slowly hated herself on the inside for it. Once the turn was complete, she glanced to the back of the bus and noticed more cop cars following them… She then noticed a power plant ahead of them and her eyes widened, making the fatal connection between the bus's direction and their destination.

* * *

As the group of Warriors continued towards the tower, a sudden blast struck Yumi down. Vixen came to an immediate stop and turned, seeing a megatank just sitting there, almost mocking them. She drew back her wired hand and started to swing it in a circle above her head, unraveling the wire as it swing in a circle. She didn't blink as another blast shot towards Yumi, devirtualizing her. Jeremie told Aelita to hid until Odd was there, as another megatank rolled up. Vixen cursed and told Vincent to go hide with Aelita. He gave her a vicious glare but followed her instruction anyway.

Once they were out of sight, she took of in a sprint towards the nearest megatank. It rolled back a bit before opening its shell, almost staring at her with its Eye. She sharply pulled the wire down to shorten the length between her blade and her hand for more accuracy as she noticed the megatank begin to charge its laser. It sent a blast at her, but she moved to the left and thrust her blade forward, connecting with its Eye. It waited a moment before blowing up, she smirked down at it, her eyes half-lidded as a smug gleam crossed her features. That was all taken away when she was suddenly shot by a blast. Her face connected with the hard ground and she groaned, cursing herself as she had forgotten the second monster. She heard it charging and rolled to the side swiftly; spinning her body around to land in a crouched position, dust swirling around her. She growled as she glared at the vile monster that struck her down, anger filling her veins.

As she and the monster were having a staring contest, she heard a familiar voice start to call out for Aelita. She smirked, turning her head slightly. So the cat-boy was here, eh? Vixen turned her green-eyed gaze back to the monster just in time to dodge yet another onslaught from the creature. She scowled, not too pleased that it kept attacking her.

* * *

Realization smacked Quinn Thompson in her face as she heard Ulrich tell Jeremie that they only had four minutes until they hit the plant. She sat there, eyes wide. She was going to die, and there was still so much she needed to do. She glanced over at Matthias, who was gripping her hand fiercely, then to Tania and Thomas who were clinging to each other, then to Ulrich. He's the one she needed to talk to, especially before her death. There was something he desperately needed to know… and now was the time to tell him. She gently pulled her hand away from Matthias' and stood up, gulping as she bit her lip. She made her way to the rather distracted soccer player as her mind began to race. She can't believe she was going to talk to him about this. Not after two years.

When it seemed Ulrich was momentarily done talking to Jeremie, she tapped him on the shoulder. He turned quickly, then his eyes widened as he saw Quinn. He was too shocked to say anything. She spoke instead.

"Look. I have a feeling I won't get another chance to say this, possibly going to die and all. So just… hear me out. I know you, and the rest of the team, are upset about me quitting so suddenly. I know you guys are upset and worried about me began I took a complete turn with my attitude, for the worst actually. I know you guys are probably disappointed in me for abandoning you. I just wanted you to know that I'm truly sorry about it… But losing him…" She trailed off, glancing away, eyes teary. "Losing him crushed me, Ulrich. He was everything to me. I couldn't continue without him, it wasn't right to me. So I changed. I just hope you find it in yourself to forgive me before we die." She said, swiftly turning around and heading back to her seat, leaving the soccer player rather stunned by the events.

* * *

Suddenly, the tank began to roll away from Vixen and she growled. "Oh hell no." She said, swiftly following after it as the sandstorm began to kick in again. She noticed three figures running towards its line of rolling and she cursed. Odd, Aelita, and Vincent all took a turn and began to run in front of the megatank as it chased them. It was then that she noticed a trench directly in front of her friends. Her eyes widened as Odd grabbed Aelita's arm and spun her around, tossing her to the other side. He shoved Vincent roughly to the left and quickly jumped over the trench. The megatank rolled over the edge and fell to its most certain doom.

Vixen came to a slow stop besides Vincent, helping him up. She and Odd shared a glance before he grinned at her. "Thanks, Vixen! I can take it from here!" He called over to her. She nodded, waving casually.

"Sure thing, Cat-Boy. See you around." She said, grabbing on to Vincent and causing the two of them to disappear in a puff of smoke. They reappeared far away from the two others, still in the desert land. Vincent grinned at her and began to examine her.

"Not too bad, if I do say so myself." He said, checking her for any flaws. She rolled her eyes at him, crossing her arms.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself." She grumbled, looking at him with those piercing green eyes. He grinned still, poking at her cheek.

"One problem, you're a little too wave-happy." He said, raising his eyebrow at her. She laughed softly.

"Yeah. You should work on that. Call me if you need me." She said, nodding her head at him. Vincent grinned and waved his hand over her gently, causing her to disappear instantly. He was quite proud of himself.

* * *

Having said what she had intended to say for years, Quinn said down next to Matthias, who gave her a curious look. She gave him a reassuring smile and shook her head, but it snapped up when she heard glass breaking. She felt the bus tip and saw Jim so out the window, only staying slightly in doors due to Ulrich and a sixth grader girl that were trying to pull him back in. She was almost instantly by Ulrich's side, helping him pull Jim back over. It took a few minutes, but they were able to do so. Once he was inside, Sissi yelled that they were going to crash. Quinn's head snapped to the side to see the plant almost right in front of them. She glanced over at Ulrich when he was done talking to Jeremie. They made eye contact, but then he spoke.

"I forgive you Quinn. I always had." He said softly, gently grabbing her head in a friendly manner as they crashed through the gate and were now only a few more seconds away from their death. She squeezed it back, glad to have her old best friend forgive her for her unreasonable behavior the past two years. Her eyes widened and she flinched as she saw the large chemical filled ball in front of them now. Sissi had begun to cling to Ulrich too, and at the moment neither of them minded. Quinn almost screamed as they came within a foot of their death, but stopped instead. Her eyes were wide and wild as she glanced around feverishly. She quickly let go of Ulrich's hand and made her way back to Matthias. She said down beside him and glanced back up, catching Ulrich smiling at her sadly. Her eyebrow raised in wonder until an odd feeling washed over her.

* * *

Quinn stepped out of her bedroom door, her hair frazzled and messy. She surprisingly didn't want to go to the pool today, but she had already signed up to go. She took a step back as Sissi ran by quickly. She stuck her head out and grumbled incoherencies as she closed and locked her door behind her. She glanced to the side and saw Ulrich standing there. They shared a small staring session before she silently moved around him and knocked on Tania's door to get the seventh grader up and moving.


End file.
